Week 4 - Stone setting in wax

Week 4 - Stone setting in wax.

I wasn't overly looking forward to this week because the last time we did wax (in term 1) Covid had hit the household (my husband and daughters) and my focus was severely lacking. As a result my last pieces were very simple and I didn’t push myself so this time I decided to be a bit more experimental on the ring.

wax tube

planning stages

cabochon setting preparation

Anyway, I actually enjoyed this weeks projects and didn't play it completely safe with my ring design like i did last time in term 1.   

I still have last weeks torque bangle to do a final polish and then set the stone, so I am off to finish that and the wax projects. 

ring shaped

stone set

finished pieces

Lost Wax carving or casting is an old metal-forming technique dating back 6,000 years.  It is still widely used today for producing jewellery, dentistry items and more.  It is a process whereby you can create an object i.e. ring, pendant or even a stone setting in wax.  This can then be used to make multiple replicas of the one object.  Once a mould is created of the wax, the wax is melted away to leave a hollow form whereby the Molten metal is poured into the mould to create the object. 

 This is just an overview of the process, there are many other stages and elements to lost wax casting. 
If I wanted to I could send these items off to be cast in to a metal of my choice, once they have been returned from assessment.